E!’s House of Villains Season 2 Premiere
As NBCUniversal geared up for the highly anticipated Season 2 premiere of E!’s House of Villains, they aimed to create an immersive stunt that put digital content and show talent front and center.
Enter the “Secret Snake Society” – an exclusive, one-night-only members' club for 165 influencers and cast members to rub shoulders and test their villainous skills. As they navigated five completely unique, custom activations, influencers were invited to embrace their inner villain for the evening.
Empire transformed the Bowery Hotel into a content creation hub, beginning with a villain portrait gallery and culminating in an exclusive 15-minute sneak peek of the first episode – complete with cheeky villainous moments and devious behavior throughout.
The Activations
- Snark Attack
Carnival games allowed guests to spin a giant wheel and drop a Plinko puck to generate the ultimate clapback. Winning results, like “Saber-Toothed Ninny-Bits” and “Feral Peasant,” were turned into frenemy bracelets.
- Villainous Allies
Guests chose a cast member to ally with, receiving a custom cocktail handed to them through a curtained cocktail window.
- Make A Scene
Guests were encouraged to unleash their inner villain by wreaking havoc in a fine dining setting—flipping tables and creating controlled chaos.
- Out-Villain a Villain
Influencers went head-to-head with cast members, competing to see who could outwit the best of the best. Those who failed were showered in confetti.
- Sinister Style
A villain needs glam and a killer wardrobe. We gave guests the opportunity to dress to the nines and strike a pose in a portrait session.
Social sharing skyrocketed, with potential total online reach of over 18M and YOY growth on all key metrics for event-generated House of Villains content, making the event a major success for E! Entertainment.
From concept and ideation to final production, creative direction, and every detail in between, Empire worked hand-in-hand with NBCUniversal every step of the way.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
